Posts by Island Man

66

Prince is dead.

by DATA-DOG in

has anyone heard about this?

that really sucks.

lots of dubs are talking.

It would be interesting to see what kind of funeral he has given that he was an active JW. Does watchtower bend the rules for celebrity JWs, or are they subjected to the typical, promotion-of-JW-teachings funeral as are regular JWs?

Given that he was ill before dying, he surely would have contemplated his own funeral arrangements. Did he love Watchtower and Jehovah so much that he made arrangements to have JWs handle his funeral or did he make arrangements to have a non-JW funeral?

And if he does have a JW funeral with the JWs capitalize on his fame to promote the religion of JWs?

150

Evolution: The Deal Breaker

by Hadriel in

first off i do believe there are some evidences of evolution or i should probably say adaptation.

i do believe this exists in various forms.. however the deal breaker for me with evolution is the chick or egg problem.

there are tons of theories that get passed around as proof of evolution however these are usually examples much further down the evolutionary chain.. what i mean is let's start at the beginning!

Island Man

You are assuming that life started with the complex molecules we see today. When life first started it may have been far simpler than the simplest cells in existence today. So the whole DNA - protein synthesis system we know today may not have existed back then and only came into existence very gradually by processes we don't yet know of. I think the fundamental mistake here is the assumption that life started as the simplest cells in existence today, then you're taking this flawed assumption and throwing an argument from ignorance fallacy at it.

7

Can you sneeze while sleeping?

by James Mixon in

jw
friends

lets start your day off with a great start.

don't look it up and give me your answer.. i,m not the only one that comes up with this crazy question.

lol.

Island Man

If you can walk while sleeping I see no reason why you can't sneeze. Besides, sneezing is supposed to be an involuntary reaction to irritation of the nasal passage. I think involuntary actions continue even while you're sleeping. So I think that you can sneeze while sleeping. Maybe its one of the reasons why you might wake up from sleep - the loud sound of the sneeze - without you realizing it.

3

Kingdom Song Parody: 91 "My Father, My God and Friend"

by Island Man in

91. my evil stepmother says god is just my friend.. life at the hall can be hard.watchtower's walls can bring tears and pain.

still every day i will bray*, "my life is not in vain".

for god is not my father, memorial emblems i must disown.

Island Man

91. My evil Stepmother says God is just my friend.

Life at the hall can be hard.
Watchtower's walls can bring tears and pain.
Still every day I will bray*, "My life is not in vain".

For God is not my Father, Memorial emblems I must disown.
So He is never near me; To Jehovah, I'm not a son.
Yes the org is my spoon-feeder and my deceiver down to the end.
Yes, Watchtower, my sick Stepmother, says God is just my friend.

Gone are the days of my youth; Deeds of a pe-do-phile smashed them clear.
Still through the wiles of my faith, this rogue is free from fear.

For God is not my Father, Memorial emblems I must disown.
So He is never near me; To Jehovah, I'm not a son.
Yes the org is my spoon-feeder and my deceiver down to the end.
Yes, Watchtower, my sick Stepmother, says God is just my friend.

* not a spelling mistake. lol.

4

Experiences, a rose by any other name.

by M*A*S*H in

every time a jw shares an 'experience' with me (in person or on jw.borg) it always strikes me that basically what they are describing are (alleged) miracles.

in my mind, i seem to remember i was taught that miracles do not occur in today's world and ended with jesus?

have i missed something here?.

Island Man

No, no, no! You have it all wrong! The only miracles that stopped are those that cannot be attributed to other natural causes - things like raising the dead; speaking in a foreign language that you haven't been taught; making the lame walk with a touch; etc.

But the other miracles that could just as easily be attributed to coincidence or natural causes - like a pioneer being given the exact money needed to pay a bill; calling at the home of someone who just prayed for god to show them the way; a mentally ill serial killer seeing an angel accompanying helpless sisters; etc - these kinds of miracles still occur because .... well .... they're less miraculous and so they don't count as the miracles that were done away with even though they're still miracles. lol

16

Thinking of writing a book about jw's, what should I put in it?

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

i've just finished reading alan miller's "fade from the truth", i enjoyed it and i love that it's freely available.

so i was thinking of writing a book of my own.

not an account of my life but more a simple step by step look at jw's and what they are really like?

Island Man

Here's an idea for you:

Write a book about the common excuses and rationalizations JWs use when confronted with TTATT - excuses like "wait on Jehovah", "human imperfection", "who else has the truth / where else to go", "that was in the past", "the light gets brighter", etc

The format could be that you tackle each excuse or rationalization, one at a time. You first mention the name of the excuse as a heading. Then you use sample dialog between a JW and a critic to demonstrate use of the excuse. Then you proceed to analyze and pick apart the excuse showing how and why it's fallacious and/or hypocritical. Then you give a suggested counter response(s) that utterly demolishes and exposes the excuse for the rubbish that it is.

Maybe you can call the book "Hiding Behind Paper Shields" with a sub-theme in smaller print that reads: "The lies they use to defend "The Truth". "Paper Shields" - a metaphorical reference to pitiful excuses and rationalizations used by JWs - would have a double-meaning. The shield is paper in the sense that it is very weak and affords no real protection. It is also paper in the sense that the excuses and rationalizations come to JWs on paper - fed to them in Watchtower literature.

The cover can have a picture of an insecure-looking JW holding up a literal paper shield against an attack. The shield would be painted with crayons to give the impression that they tried to make it look like a real strong shield made of metal, but the color is not convincing. lol.

The book would be an excellent resource for newly awakening ones and even the public that is aware of TTATT. You can think of it as being like the reasoning book for reasoning with JWs but specifically geared at exposing and overcoming their pitiful excuses and rationalizations. it would be an excellent resource for dealing with the rationalizations that elders use on judicial committees when confronted with TTATT by an awake JW.

32

Are Witnesses really "Bible Students"?

by stuckinarut2 in

we were always told that as witnesses we were "sincere bible students".... carefully examining the scriptures.. yes, we were indeed taught much about the content of the bible, it's history, prophecies etc..... but it was always from one perspective....that of the society.

when the society changed its interpretations, we had to do the same..... so were we really "bible students", or "society students"?.

just a thought.....

Island Man

No. Witnesses play bait and switch with adjectival form of the word bible. They bait the word bible but the actual practical meaning is switched with Watchtower.

Thus, "Bible study" is, in practice, a study of Watchtower literature. What they call "Bible teachings" is, in practice, the fallible interpretations - and sometimes speculations - found in Watchtower literature.

They don't actually use Watchtower literature as an aid in studying the bible. They use - or abuse - the bible as an aid in studying Watchtower literature. Watchtower literature is always the focus of their study, not the bible.

6

The Sound of Science - Evolution

by C0ntr013r in

i found this amazing song!

and since a big number of the people on this board are unbelievers i thought you might enjoy it ;).

imo it is pure gold!.

Island Man

The biggest obstacles to people accepting evolution as a fact are:

1. Ignorance. They don't know of the mountains of evidence that exists and proves it. They actually believe that it's "just a theory".

2. Misinformation. They've been misled by creationist propaganda that consists of fallacies, lies and outdated information.

3. Lack of understanding. They don't really understand evolution, although they think they do. The evolution that they find hard to believe truly is a myth because it's not really evolution but their false understanding of it created by their ignorance and by being misinformed.

It's always easy to tell when an evolution-doubter is ignorant, has been misinformed or lacks understanding. They ask rhetorical questions that someone who is truly knowledgeable of the subject of evolution would not only not ask, but would be ashamed to ask - unless as a joke.

33

Where and What. . . IS THE EVIDENCE for "Mental ILLNESS"? ? ?

by Terry in

jw
friends

i have no interest whatsoever in stirring up controversy.. in fact, i find clashes of opinion to be debilitatingly negative.. so, i'd simply like to request that we narrow this discussion to evidence.. please watch this video which is tantalizingly titled :.

"there's no such thing as mental illness".. consider this data and listen to the presentation of cause vs. effects and give me your analysis and any evidence for conclusions you may draw.

we all have anecdotal tendencies, but i should remind you, anecdotal testimony isn't evidence, only opinion.________________________________________.

Island Man

I think there is enough scientific evidence proving that the brain is the organ that is responsible for the mental faculties. Secondly, given that the brain is not an invincible organ but is subject to damage and dysfunction just like any other organ, it is only logical that a dysfunctional brain would result in mental dysfunction, or in other words, metal illness.

Anyone claiming that there is no such thing as mental illness must either be a Scientologist or they must be mentally ill them self - or both.

35

what do you think is the main reason why so many young ones are waking up?

by Crazyguy in

seems as though the number of baptisms even for the young ones is down from what people report here.

at my former hall the young ones are all in totally sheltered even while going to school.

expressing thier desires to pioneer etc.

Island Man

I believe its the tablets. By making available Watchtower apps for download, the org has given many young ones the ammunition they need to pressure their parents to get them tablets. The orgs push in IT has resulted in more JWs having tablets than otherwise would have. More tablets = more internet access = more access to the ugly truth about Watchtower posted online = more young ones waking up.